Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with chords

songbooks?

freddymetz — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:29:16 -0800

where can i find acoustic chord books with lyrics in or around MORELIA, Mexico? im looking for songbooks by mexican bands like mana or camila but also basically any acoustic songbooks!
i cant really find a bookstore either in morelia! Where do they sell this kind of stuff in mexico?

"Minor chords = sad": Just a Western thing?

Dr. Send — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:23:32 -0800

Can anyone with good academic-library-fu point me toward an article that argues for cultural differences between how certain keys or chords are interpreted affectively? Specifically, I'm looking for a source for the claim that perceiving minor chords as sad is specifically a Western thing, and that non-Westerners don't perceive minor chords as sad and/or they perceive other types of chords as sad (or whatever). I know this topic has come up on the green before, but I couldn't find an answer for this particular question (i.e. I don't really care why minor chords sound sad).

Just a square, I guess.

gallusgallus — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:22:07 -0800

Music types: help me identify exactly what it is that I dislike about these particular types of jazz! Recently, a friend has been trying to get me into jazz. When exploring, though, I run into a weird hurdle: I really like jazz made up through the thirties, but somewhere in the late 40s/50s/60s, it acquires a specific harmonic quality that I absolutely can't stand. I tend to listen to music mostly for the harmonies and chord progressions, and this particular element literally raises hairs on the back of my neck.

It's not just that later jazz is more free-form and deconstructed; we're talking a particular type of chord or harmony that, in most cases, I can pick out within less than a measure. And it's not just the sheer quantity of dissonance, because (while not the biggest fan), I can listen to Stravinsky or Schoenberg forever without it bothering me in the same way.

Sadly, to say, "I don't do jazz after about 1940" sounds kind of ig'nant, like maybe I'm just an uptight fuddy-duddy who can't handle the Cool. I’d like to be able to identify the specific harmonic quality that bothers me (e.g. "I just don't like augmented fourths," or whatever) but I haven't been able to find any theory-oriented histories of jazz that specifically break down its development into nitty-gritty musical elements. So can anybody help me figure out what chord/interval/harmony/progression I'm talking about?

Some specifics:

I associate this with wind/brass ensembles, but I'm not sure why.
It turns up A LOT in Miles Davis's work. As far as I can see, I hate just about everything the poor guy's ever done.
Definitely present in E.S.P.
Also in Giant Steps, where the opening chords after the solo pretty much typify what I'm talking about.
And it's even in some pop, like The girl from Ipanema. You know the generic light-jazz that plays in elevators in the movies? Totally.
But it's not (obviously) present in Take Five , even though that's later jazz
Also not in Sing, Sing, Sing , even though that's plenty dissonant.

If it'd help, I'm happy to try additional test-cases. What is this harmony? Any ideas, AskMeFi?

Why do minor chords sound cold?

dunkadunc — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:50:58 -0800

Why do minor chords sound cold? Why do minor chords sound 'cold', while major chords sound warm?
As a musician, this has been bugging me for some time- I know it's not just me because I've heard this from other people as well.
Is this purely a cultural association that one learns, or is there some sort of neural/mental connection between a minor chord and tension and nervousness?

Help me unlock the power of the four chords.

Beardman — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:43:39 -0800

Why exactly is the appeal of those notorious four chords in pop music? I hear them everywhere, and I am starting to lose my shit. Like many people, I'd been making fun of "the four chords" for years before the Axis of Awesome spoof hit the internet. I had wryly accepted that many songs I like are essentially the same as some of my less favourite songs (even though the starting place of the chords is sometimes switched up: one version goes 1, 2, 3, 4, and another goes 3, 4, 1, 2).

But lately mirth has been giving way to indignation and bafflement. Every day I hear crappier and crappier versions of the same melody. When I do, I grit my teeth and wonder:

1. Can anyone explain why people are emotionally sucked in by this particular chord cycle? My google-fu has failed to turn up any serious account of its popularity. Is there one? Or even a more general account of affective responses to music that could help explain the phenomenon? Or just a bloody hunch?

2. How self-aware is the songwriting/recording industry about this? Do the bigwigs just say, "We need a hit. You know what to do"? (I know it doesn't explain Arthur Russell and David Byrne doing it, but still.)

3. Who started this horror? Pachelbel/Green Day misses by a hair, and I think it's only the Pet Shop Boys' cover of "Always On My Mind" that goes there; the older Elvis version has a bass note in chord 2 that changes it.

Apologies for the many questions. They all boil down to a single howl of frustration.

Play me a song, you're the piano man...

SNWidget — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 13:37:21 -0800

PianoFilter: So, it's a bit embarrassing, but I'm a music grad student, and I can't play piano. Now, I'm coming upon my piano proficiency test in a few weeks, and I'm panicking. I need to play and memorize two piano bits in hymn style (bass notes in left hand, melody/chords in right), and I just can't seem to make it all work. Help? I know, I should be able to do this, but I'm an instrumentalist. The theory isn't giving me hell - it's the actual act. I can't seem to make all of my fingers make all of the jumps they need to.

The main problem is the chord fills in the left hand. I can play the bass, and I can play the melody. It's the jumps that are messing me up. The notes will skip, and my brain isn't able to recover. People have been giving me chord patterns to practice (I-IV-I-V-I), but those don't require any giant jumps on the left hand - you can keep at least one finger down moving through the chords. It's the big jumps that mess me up, and I just can't do it in any sort of consistent tempo, even slowly.

Has anyone worked with this, or have any advice on how to learn this? Transposing it isn't going to be an issue, and neither will doing the chord analysis - it's really just the act of playing the piano that I can't seem to wrangle. I feel like I just missed a step on learning how to do this somewhere - something about finger placement, or along those lines.

I really have no background in piano, and the only piano I've ever played with score reading, which was basically block chord in the left hand, and melody in the right. Having the melody and chord material in the left hand is killing me.

Any advice? I know this is kind of vague, but it basically boils down to any advice on playing hymn/chorale style music on the piano.

chad vangaalen's echo trian

madmamasmith — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:20:56 -0800

does anyone know the guitar chords/ tab for Chad Vangaalen's echo train? PLease....

Songs where the chords descend in fourths

Zero Gravitas — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:35:21 -0800

I'm looking for songs that have a particular kind of chord progression. Specifically songs that have long sequences descending by fourths. For example: ii-V-I-IV-vii-III-vi, like in Gary Moore's Still got the Blues, and similarly in Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive. I'm pretty certain this is ridiculously common, but for whatever reason, I'm coming up dry.

Hippopotamus Song on Guitar

Blackwatch — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:55:22 -0800

Guitar chords for 'Hippopotamus Song' by Flanders and Swann? Usually not bad at working out guitar chords, but this one has me flummoxed.

The classic 'Hippopotamus Song' (AKA 'Mud, Mud - Glorious Mud') was originally played on the piano, so that may explain why I can't find guitar chords anywhere on the net.

If anyone can supply a workable chord structure or guitar tab, I'd be most grateful.

I'm at a reasonable level on the guitar, so it doesn't need to be a simplified version.

Thanks a lot.

Tabs with No Ads

ageispolis — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:35:37 -0800

What are your favourite non-general guitar tab/chord sites? I'm tired of the inaccuracy of fretplay, ultimate-guitar, and all of that other shit out there that litters every google search and usually leads to:

1. the tab you're looking for, but completely off the mark in transcription
2. the tab, albeit incomplete and hidden underneath a blanket of ads
3. some video of a guy teaching you how to play a james blunt song

etc, etc.

For example, www.dylanchords.info offers excellent transcriptions of almost every Bob Dylan song. Anyone know of any other resources like this? I'm specifically looking for a Rolling Stones one, or any blues/folk for that matter. But any site that's not 911tabs, or any of those other sites, is welcome, be it classical, spanish, or what have you.

determine key from chords

crapples — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:18:38 -0800

Given a set of guitar chords, I want to know how I can determine what key a song is in. For example, if I play a song using the chords C - D - G, how can I figure out what key I'm playing in? What if I play Am - G - C - F? Or any other set of chords that sound good together? Is there a trick or calculation that will give me the answer? Does it get harder if I'm using sevenths, minors, ninths, or whatever else?

Be my Guitar Hero!

surenoproblem — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 07:05:14 -0800

Easy guitar question! Can anyone help me figure out what chords are being played in the chorus to this youtube video? http://youtube.com/watch?v=-uZ19EYzX4c

I'm just looking for the chords to the chorus (starts around 28s). For what it's worth, the camera zooms in a bit closer on his fingers just before the chorus, and really close before the next repeat (1:28), but I still can't work it out!

My best guess is:

Am C(?) F E

But I'm pretty sure I'm missing something... please help!

Yeah Budgie!

mistsandrain — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:42:49 -0800

Please help me find chords and tab for Budgie's "Young is a World"... off of the Squawk album. I didn't realize OLGA was taken down... must be old news. My searches have turned up nothing... I think I have the lyrics down but if you run across those, please include...

thanks!

Learning guitar - need to find songs with just the chords I know.

xchmp — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:38:07 -0800

I've been learning guitar for just over a month now and it seems to be going quite well. I'm trying to get my chord transitions fast and smooth with the easy open chords before I move on to more difficult ones. I've found a few songs that I can play with just these chords by looking through the usual guitar tab/chord websites, but finding them this way manually is time-consuming. Where I can search for songs that only include a specified set of chords?

Name that chord!

sergeant sandwich — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:16:51 -0800

What is the guitar chord being played by Nancy Wilson at 0:44-0:47 in this Heart video? I cant for the life of me figure out what the hell that is or which fingers are on what frets; doesn't look like any of the moveable barre shapes or open chords I know. But I'm absolutely sure I've seen that (or similar) before on other videos, and I'm thinking it must be something fairly common. Anyone care to clue me in?

chords in "the kiss" by Judee Sill

primer_dimer — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:26:59 -0800

Anyone care to take a guess at the chords in "the kiss" by Judee Sill (youtube link inside)? Never having heard of Judee Sill before, I came across this performance on the Old Grey Whistle Test (UK TV show from the 70s). I would dearly love to work out a guitar arrangement but can't find any tab or sheet music anywhere. I'm not bad at transcibing guitar tracks from ear but I'm less certain about the piano. Can any ivory-tinkling MeFite help me figure out the chords? You can see her hands at some points in the performance which might help.

engine heart chords

KaeporaGaebora — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:21:07 -0800

does anyone happen to know the chords to engine heart by mirah? i think they are played on a ukelele. thank you!

EADGBE chord?

crayolarabbit — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 23:18:56 -0800

On a guitar, in regular tuning, what is the chord you get when you play it open? (basically, what chord is made by playing EADGBE)?

why is E not E?

sergeant sandwich — Sat, 26 May 2007 04:18:14 -0800

i'm a total guitar noob and have been learning for only a month now, so please forgive what may be a really dumb question. why is it that to play certain chords on the guitar (for instance, C major, or A minor) you don't play the open low-E string, but you do play the open high-E string. it's the same note, isn't it? so why doesn't it sound as good?

Chords for "Ring Telephone Ring" by Buck Ram?

unmusic — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 08:22:53 -0800

[obscuremusicfilter] Wondering if anyone has reliable chords and/or sheet music to "Ring Telephone Ring" by Buck Ram. The song was popular in late 1941, both the Ink Spots and Glen Miller Orchestra recorded versions.

Thanks! I'm posting for a friend, BTW...

Tilly and the wall piano chords

KaeporaGaebora — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 17:26:54 -0800

does anyone know the piano chords to coughing colors by tilly and the wall? thanks!

Chords / Melody ?

signal — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 09:10:35 -0800

What's the relationship between the melody of a song and its chord structure? I've been playing guitar for some 20 years and when I'm playing a song I understand on some pre-rational level why the chords change at that precise instant, and how the song fits into it, but I've never figured it out on an abstract level that I could explain to somebody else or use to write my own songs.
I can play some blues, and know that at certain chords in a progression, certain intervals sound better than others, but I've never figured out how to go the other way: given a melody, figure out the chords that will fit it.
When I have tried to write songs, the chords tend to match the melody almost exactly (if I sing a C, I play a C chord), which of course sounds like crap.
I'm interested in the theory of this, no matter how dry, and I'm thinking of a pop/rock context.

Help me play songs for children

djstig — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:04:19 -0800

Help me to find guitar tabs/chords for childrens songs. I've just got a job as a teacher, and kind of mentioned that I can play the guitar, I can....just. So I want to expand my repertoire from no songs, to many song, that will keep 6 year olds happy for hours(minutes will do to start with)

I'm not an expert on finding tabs/chords on the internet, and there seems to be loads of sites out there, but not many that I've found with children specific songs.

Also any song books that people would recommend me to use for this age range would be handy as well.

Thanks in advance.

Birthday present chord help

interrobang — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 13:40:34 -0800

I'd like to record a version of this song on Garageband for my girlfriend's birthday, but I cannot figure out the chords, and I can't find them anywhere online. Can anyone please help? I've already figured out the trumpet part (and I figure I could do the violin bit on the mandolin, but the chords sound somewhat... jazzy to me, and I don't know what most of them are. If anyone could either post the chords for me, or find them somewhere online, it'd be a great help.

Why do bar chords hurt my hand?

ORthey — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 12:44:46 -0800

Bar chords - still painful after 10 years. Anyone have tips? I've been playing (acoustic) guitar since I was 15 or so, and my left hand (sort of below the thumb area) still hurts after only a half hour or so of playing bar chords. I've made do by using the thumb on my left hand for bass notes, which actually works really well, but still - I'd ideally like to do both. Am I simply pressing too hard? What's the deal?